Monday, March 6, 2017

Merkel backs idea of 'multi-speed Europe' at Versailles meet

The leaders of France, Germany, Spain, and Italy have
urged a reform of the EU to allow member states to choose their degree
of integration. The EU is searching for a way forward as the UK prepares
to trigger its exit. The concept of "multi-speed Europe" would see some EU countries grow
more united on economic and defense matters, while allowing other states
to catch up later, the leaders of four of EU's biggest economies said at
an informal summit on Monday. The meet was hosted by French President
Francois Hollande, who welcomed Germany's Angela Merkel, Italy's Paolo
Gentiloni, and Spain's Mariano Rajoy in Versailles. "Unity is not uniformity," Hollande said at a joint press conference, urging "new forms of cooperation." One of the priorities, according to the French president, is creation of a European defense force
to cooperate with NATO. Also, some EU states could move faster and
further in deepening the eurozone and harmonizing their fiscal and
social policy. His comments were echoed by Angela Merkel, the leader of Europe's largest economy. "A
multi-speed Europe is necessary: otherwise we are blocked," she said.
"We must have the courage to accept that some countries can move forward
a little more quickly than others." The four leaders presented no detailed proposal after the Monday
summit. However, the EU is expected to weigh its option for the future
in the run-up to the Rome conference on March 25. The meet, marking 60
years since the EU was founded, would see the 27 remaining countries
discuss reform proposals. The UK expected to launch exit negotiations by
the end of the month.Juncker lists options
The
idea of varying degrees of unity between EU nations has been endorsed
by Spain and Italy, as well as several other rich EU nations. Newer
members, particularly Poland and Hungary, signaled their reservations. Last week, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker set out five possible directions
for the EU, ranging from reducing the EU to a single market,
maintaining the status quo, reducing Brussels' influence, go down a more
federalist path, or creating the multi-speed EU endorsed by the major
players of the bloc. At the time, Juncker said that the Brexit would be painful, but would "not stop the EU as it moves to the future." dj/bw (AP, dpa, AFP) DW